Two Queen Bee Bags

Ever since I saw my friend Michelle's Queen Bee Bag, I have wanted to make one.  She told me about the tutorial at the Moda Bake Shop, and I went to find it.  The tutorial is done by Polly of Aunt Polly's Porch.  The tutorial uses a charm pack and has pieced panels, but I wanted to keep it simple and show off the cute daisy fabric I found.  So while I used the tutorial for dimensions, I also changed quite a few things.

This is my first bag.

One thing I did differently was quilt big panels and cut them down to size.  The nice thing about using Kona Black for the main part of the bag is that it is a little extra wide.  I was able to quilt 7/8 of a yard and cut out two panels 22 x 27 inches.

Another thing I changed was making the pocket designed to hold a 18 x 24 inch cutting mat taller.  The tutorial has a 14 inch tall pocket. (I don't have a mat that size, so I put my June Taylor Cut-n-Press in the pocket.) My pocket was cut out at 22 inches square.  This makes it not so floppy.  Once again I quilted 2/3 of a yard of the daisy fabric and cut out the sizes I wanted.  So the red line you see at the top is binding, not just the lining showing.

I still did the two pockets on the other side, but wish that I had used velcro or a zipper on the bottom pocket.  When things are in the main part of the bag that bottom pocket really flops open.  But I love that tall pocket for rulers.

Originally, I wanted the lining to be quilted like this reversible bag I recently made.

I love how strong it feels, so I quilted a gray panel for it. What I didn't consider was how thick the bag would already be with the outer pockets, so I decided to use a plain lining instead.  For the inner pockets, I just zig-zagged around some left over quilted pieces.  The black pocket is divided in half, and the white pocket has a velcro closure.

This bag nicely fits my Pfaff Plexiglas extension table which measures 18 x 24 inches.  I am excited to take this bag to a class or retreat.

The one thing I was dreading making was the 80 inch handles.  She has you iron each side in 3/4 of an inch before folding it in half, adding batting, and topstitching.  That was 320 inches of a 3/4 inch hem.  I tried an experiment and used my Hera marker to crease a line at 3/4 of an inch and then iron it.  (This red is Kona Chinese Red - one of my favorites.)

This was a technique I have used when making cards.  You score the paper before folding and end up with a prettier fold.  I was amazed at how well it worked with the fabric.  Ironing that 3/4 inch hem went so fast!

So after the first bag was finished I had two large quilted gray panels (about 22 x 27 inches).  I didn't want it to go to waste, so I decided to make a second bag.  :)

I ended up cutting it down to 21 x 27 inches so I could make two big 21 x 22 inch pockets with that Studio E Essentials vine fabric.  I kept one pocket big to hold cutting mats and large square rulers.

And divided the second pocket in half.  (There is a seam between those two rulers).

I ran out of the Northcott solid gray, so I lined the second bag with Kona White.  There is just one pocket made out of the white fabric which has a velcro closure.

This bag is slightly smaller and fits my Janome extension table very well.

Right now they are both in my craft room.  I may or may not give the second one to my mother.  I may just keep it and store rulers I don't use as often in there.  We'll see.  :)

When I talked to my friend Michelle and told her about the changes I made, she said the one change she would make is boxing the corners a bit.  But all in all the tutorial for the Queen Bee Bag at the Moda Bake Shop is excellent.  One thing to note is that Polly says it is a 120 minute gift idea.  Even after I quilted the panels, it took me a lot longer than that for each bag.  She must be speedy.  :D

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the parties on my sidebar.  Check them out.  There is something fun for every day of the week.

Quarterly Stash Report Plus

My friend Yvonne of Quilting Jet Girl has requested some blocks to make quilts for children whose father passed away recently.  What I love about these quilts is that the children are helping her put their own quilt together.

Yvonne has asked for black and white (or blue) music themed or improv blocks for the younger brother.  This is my first attempt at slicing, dicing, and adding scraps to make an improv block.  I will admit that I emailed Yvonne a picture and asked if this was what she had in mind.  She said that it is "fabulous."  I don't think I would call it fabulous, but it was fun to try something new.  Cheetah does not like this at all, but both Panda and Monkey think it is kinda cool.

This sailboat block is entirely made from scraps and is for the older sister.  I just Googled "sailboat quilt blocks" and tried to make something work with the scraps I had on hand.  So in a way this is a bit improv too.  I just kept sewing and adding things until it looked the way I wanted and fit the size Yvonne requested (10 x 7 inches unfinished).  All three of my boys really like this block.  ;)  Gotta love honest opinions of children.

Shortly after finishing the above blocks, I sat down to figure out my stash report for the first quarter.  The totals were a little surprising to me because I was given so much fabric in January (44 yards from a neighbor, class samples, and Christmas gift)  I even bought a lot of Kona Snow and black for my stash  (12 yards total).  However, even with all those additions, I have come out pretty even.

January:  31 yards used, 76 yards added
February:  46.5 yards used, 12.5 yards added
March:  28 yards used, 13 yards added.

First Quarter:  105.5 yards used, 101.5 yards added
Total:  4 yards less

And in case anyone is wondering, the yards used include lots of finished projects: 1 queen size quilt, 1 lap quilt, 12 baby quilts, 1 wall hanging, 2 mini quilts, 4 quilted bags, and 16 drawstring bags.  Oh my!  That really adds up.

And here is a sneak peek at my Friday Finish helping with my total yards used in March.

Two Queen Bee Bags from a tutorial at the Moda Bake shop.  Each bag used 4.5 yards of fabric.

I hope to work in some more stash busting soon.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with Let's Bee Social, Oh Scrap, and Can I get a Whoop Whoop.  (Buttons on Sidebar)

A FMQ Light Bulb Moment

I have been doing a lot of reading in preparation for my Free Motion Quilting Basics classes which I teach at my LQS.  I have especially been reviewing these books.  

After reading through First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting by Christina Cameli a second time, something finally clicked.  Christina recommends quilting away from you in a counter-clockwise direction.  She says that this makes it easier to see what you have already quilted, so you don't run into your previous stitches.  

It was her words of a counter-clockwise direction that finally sunk in.  That is backwards from how I have always quilted with all over designs like meandering, loops, and swirls.  When piecing or quilting with the walking foot whatever you have just sewn goes behind the needle.  When quilting away from you, what you have just quilted is in front of the needle and you are pulling the quilt towards you.  Completely backwards!  

I believe that most techniques are worth trying at least once, so I have been experimenting quilting away from me for the past month since my first class.  It was difficult to wrap my mind around quilting backwards.  However, I have to say that I now absolutely love it!!!  

I have taken some pictures along the way to show how much better the view is when quilting away from you.  

In the following picture I am quilting my quilt Cherish with a flower design from Christina's second book (which she calls Cherish).  I have just finished one flower and have limited space between flowers to quilt before starting the next flower.  This is what my view would normally look like when quilting towards me.  

In this next picture I have drawn over what I just barely quilted with black and my previous quilting in blue.  

Now look at the difference when quilting away from me.  

It is much easier to quilt between those flowers.  

Especially when my cream thread blends in so well with the yellow.  

And my quilting machine (a Tiara) has a great view.  Imagine the difference it makes when quilting on a domestic sewing machine.  

There is a lot more machine blocking the view on a domestic.  And I have had crinks in my neck from peering around behind the needle before.  

I have also quilted away from me on my husband's quilt and my brother's quilt.  In the picture below you can see I am quilting away from me and to the right up into the corner.  

I have to say that not only is the view better, but I have less drag on the quilt itself.  I am now changing the direction I quilt an all over pattern.  

I will say that I think this only makes a big difference on all over designs when sitting down to quilt.  When quilting in rows like on this blue baby quilt, I still quilt one row away and the next row towards me.  (That keeps the design more continuous.)

I also don't think it would make a difference on block designs, because you have to quilt the entire shape anyway.  

In my second Free Motion Quilting Basics class last Saturday, I encouraged my students to try quilting away from them.  I think they liked the view better as well.  

As a side note, I just wanted to say that it was so nice teaching the same class more than once (same class different students).  This time I went in with more realistic expectations for what we could cover during the class.  I spent the first hour going over background information: batting, needles, thread, basting... Then went over starting to quilt and tension.  They then worked to get good tension on their machines.  After which I talked about doodling and different quilting designs.  Then they doodled before moving on to quilting those designs.  While I still wish the class could go longer than three hours, this is what the manager feels is best.  I will teach the basics class one more time next month.  I have a part two where we will quilt a baby quilt scheduled for next month as well, however no one has signed up for that yet.  

My students really liked my handouts.  Only one of them had previous experience with FMQ, and she especially loved the handouts showing multiple designs.  

I am looking forward to my next class and continuing to quilt with a better view!  Please tell me that I am not the only one who didn't know this.  What direction do you normally quilt?  

XX,

Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar.  Check them out to see what other quilters are doing.  

Pinwheels in the Wind: A Finished Quilt

I am happy to say that my brother W's quilt is now finished.  I talked more about the piecing and inspiration in my previous post.

I was unable to find a plain cream minky for the backing, and the green I purchased didn't work.  So I bought an off-white minky for the backing.  (It doesn't photograph that well.)

It is just a little bit lighter than the Kona Snow in my label.

I decided to name it "Pinwheels in the Wind" because the swirly quilting reminds me of wind.

This was the largest I had quilted spirals. A lot of the quilting lines are an inch apart.  Some of the spirals  have hooks and some don't.  I just quilted whatever fit the space.  It is so cuddly and looks really neat on the minky backing.

Because of the lighter backing, I chose one of the light greens for the binding.  Totally love how soft it looks.

And so does Cheetah.  He had to test it out when I was trying to take a picture of the backing in the sunlight (too bright).

Reminds me of his little brother Monkey and the Through the Woods quilt.  Lol.

Cheetah has told me at least three times this week that he is so glad I got over my fear of minky.  :D

I found my boys fighting over Pinwheels in the Wind yesterday, so I told them to go get their own minky backed quilt.  It's probably not surprising that they think they need more minky backed quilts.

I will be sure to tell W that if he doesn't like it, he can just give it back.  My boys will use it!

Quilt Stats #137
Name: Pinwheels in the Wind
Pattern: 16 inch pinwheels inspired by Val's quilt
Fabrics Used: cream and greens from stash with a minky backing
Amount Used: 7 yards
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Size: About 58 x 76 inches
Date Finished: March 2015
What I learned:

• Take fabric from the quilt top with you when buying the backing even if you know what you want.  (I bought the wrong green when my favorite LQS didn't have the cream.)
• I can quilt large swirls/spirals.  
• Using a magazine to flatten a block after it's pressed really works.  

Now I just have two sibling quilts left.  One for my sister K and one for my brother V.  Then I may start giving quilts to my nieces and nephews when they get married. (There are more than 40 and one of them is engaged.)  

XX,

Jasmine

P.S. I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar.  There is something fun for every day of the week.  

Pinwheel Quilt in Progress

A year ago, my sister-in-law came and picked out fabric in my stash for me to make my brother W a quilt.  She selected this cream and these green fabrics.  I am finally getting around to making it.  :)

The quilt is inspired by my friend Val at Val's Quilting Studio.   Last May she posted about a darling pinwheel quilt  she had made.  I immediately knew it would be good for my brother.

It goes together really fast, because my pinwheels finish at sixteen inches.  (Slightly bigger than Val's.)  I changed it up by using the background in the pinwheels, adding cornerstones between them, and making my borders slightly larger (3 inches finished.)  I spent one day making the blocks, and the next piecing the top.

I plan on having a minky backing and quilting it in big swirls/spirals.  I really love simple quilts!

And have you seen this pressing tip?  You put a magazine on your item while it is still hot from the iron and leave it on until it's cool.  (Read more about it here at Cluck Cluck Sew.)

It really helped my seams to lay flat, even where all eight points meet.

While I wouldn't use it for everything, it was perfect for pressing the final seam on the pinwheels.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar.  There is something fun for every day of the week.

Bias Binding Tutorial

I always like the look of plaid and stripe bindings on the bias, and bias bindings are the best for sewing around curves.  I know there are lots of ways to cut the binding on the bias which include folding the fabric in interesting ways, but I keep it simple and just cut through one layer of fabric at a time.  I thought some of you would like to see how I make my bias bindings.

Materials:

• Binding Fabric--I usually purchase a little extra.  On a quilt this size (40 x 50 inches) I normally purchase 1/2 yard of binding.  For the bias binding I purchased 2/3 yard of binding.  It was only six inches more, and made it a little bit easier.  Note:  The smaller the piece you are cutting, the more seams there will be.  
• Rotary Cutter
• 24 inch ruler with 45 degree angles marked (My favorite is the Big Daddy designed by Trudie Hughes.)

This is how I calculate the number of strips needed for bindings:

1. Calculate the perimeter of your quilt (length of side 1 + side 2 + side 3 + side 4) and add 10-15  more inches to cover the extra fabric needed for corners and joining the ends.
2. Divide that number by the length of your binding strips.  (Most of the time I say 40 inches because you loose a couple inches when joining the ends on the 45 degree angle, but for this bias binding my length was 31 inches.)
3. Round that number up to get the number of strips.    

I will use this Forest Friends quilt for an example:

1. 40 + 40 + 50 + 50 + 15 = 195 inches
2. 195 / 31 = 6.3 strips
3. 7 strips are needed :)

Notes: 

• On some bias bindings you may have some longer and shorter strips.  So instead of dividing by the length of you strips, you can keep a running total of the length of all your strips added together.  
• I know that adding the extra 10-15 inches may lead to some extra binding left over, but I would rather have too much than too little.  I rarely run out of binding fabric when I use these calculations.  

Now on to cutting the binding.  :D  You may want to iron your fabric with a little spray starch before cutting, but I don't always do that.  

1.  Square up the right and left sides of your fabric.  Unfold it on your cutting mat.  

2.  Line up the 45 degree marking on your ruler along the selvage.  It will not reach edge to edge.  Cut as far as you can along your ruler.  

3.  Keeping your rotary cutter in place, slide the ruler along your cutting line so that a different 45 degree marking lines up with the left edge of your fabric.  Finish the first cut.  

4.  It now looks like this.  Set the bottom left triangle aside for now.  (You can cut into it later if you still need more length for your binding.)

5.  Rotate the larger piece so you can cut along the entire length of the bias edge.  

6.  Using your ruler cut your strips the width you want to use.  I cut mine out at 2.5 inches.  

7.  Measure the length of your strip.  Mine was 31 inches along the bottom edge.  Use this in the calculations I mentioned above.  These strips already have your 45 degree angles cut on the ends ready for piecing.  

8.  Continue cutting strips along the bias edge.  

9.  I was able to cut six strips out at the 31 inch length.  This was not enough, so I cut one strip into the triangle section.  I then had to trim one end to the 45 degree angle.  

Note:  Because I only needed 6.3 strips I knew I would still have enough with one that was a little bit shorter.  

 This is what you will have when you are done cutting.   

10.  Take your strips to your sewing machine and line them up like this.  The triangle tips should stick out about a quarter inch.  

11.  Sew from point to point (along the red line I drew).  The tape you see in the center is in line with my needle making this easier.  

12.  Press and sew your binding strip together the same way you would any other binding, but be careful about stretching it too much as you sew. 

13.  Enjoy the look of your bias binding.  

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  

XX,

Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the parties on my sidebar.  There is something fun for every day of the week.